It depends — is your credit in enough shape to qualify for a lower interest rate on a consolidation loan? Will you be able to make the monthly payment associated with the loan? Unlike a credit card, where you can pay the minimum, an installment loan locks you into a payment each month for a set period of time. You can also consider a balance-transfer credit card, which could help you save on interest. More info on the pros and cons of all those options here:

If your finances have taken a turn for the worse and you find yourself drowning in debt, a debt management program may help you keep your head above water. These programs, also known as debt management plans or DMPs, are a form of debt relief in which a counseling agency works with your creditors to reduce your monthly payment to a level more suitable to your current situation.[1] A DMP may be able to help you negotiate lower interest rates, get late fees waived, work out a payment schedule that's acceptable to you and your creditors, and consolidate your monthly payments into one. However, keep in mind that all DMPs charge fees, and some can be excessively expensive or even fraudulent.

Cons: Specific to National Debt Relief, it is not available in all states, so if you are one of the 16 states it doesn’t operate in, you can’t use it. In generally, there are always risks to debt relief. If you choose debt settlement or bankruptcy, it can affect your credit score. Know the risks before you decide to go forward with any debt relief program.

Fortunately, there are several methods to reduce debt – and maybe even eliminate it – in a consistent and logical manner. This can be done on your own, if you have discipline, but it’s often beneficial to partner with financial professionals, who can negotiate lower rates with lenders, refinance homes or create budgets that keep you on the right course.

The interest rate of your loans has no effect on your credit. You will pay off the loans quicker if you concentrate on the high-interest rate loans and as a result your credit utilization ratio will go down which will improve your credit, but you could achieve a lower credit utilization by paying off the loans with the lower interest rate as well so your statement is misleading.
People are reluctant to ask relatives or friends for help dealing with debt. Remedy: Call a nonprofit credit counseling agency and get free help from experts. Credit counselors are trained and certified by national organizations like the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. They can suggest debt-relief solutions like debt management programs, credit consolidation, debt settlement or, if things are way over the edge, bankruptcy. The credit counselors advise you on creating budgets and recommend a solution that you can take or leave. And, it’s free! Take advantage of that.

Paying off credit card debt won’t hurt your credit scores, and often helps. As for closing accounts, it’s impossible for us to predict exactly what will happen if you close those accounts, Since they are department store cards they probably aren’t charging you an annual fee, are they? Why not just stop using them once they are paid off? You can even cut up the plastic if you don’t want to be tempted to use them again.

so to ease my stress, which ironically is a major component in my disabiiity, after I fill out their financial affidavit, I am assuming I won’t have to worry about them pounding on my door and taking our furniture? My 2013 tax statement Chase bank had sent me a 1099 C for over 20000 – with that when the acct tallied…..he still came out with an insolvency of over 49000 – this all happened rather fast as was not aware my depression also created a bipolar II disorder which is how I accumulated so much debt in such a short time – termed as “manic sprees” – to think I once was a high risk collector and i heard this term at least 2x a day and did not believe……..what is that they say about what goes around? Statute of Limitations with no signed agreement in Fl is 4 yrs..last time I had paid the “creditor” on this one was Nov 2011 – however I see another sitting in collections from Portfolio that says last py was 3/2011 and another from Unifund where lst pymnt was feb 2011 – statute expired…..would I call Transunion?
Ask for help from your friends, relatives, coworkers, and acquaintances. I don’t mean ask people to pay your debts for you. I mean ask for help with transportation, child care, manual labor, tips, recipes, and ideas. Ask to borrow tools. Ask handy people to show you how to do things to save money. Google stuff. Just because you don’t know how to do something now or have never done it before doesn’t mean you can’t do it.
Great article. We are in the process of paying down debt, and the freedom we feel in watching that number decrease is a beautiful thing! Doing something RIGHT AWAY is key because, as your chart above shows, the greater the amount of money going into paying debt, the less you have to spend (even on the things you truly need!), so the debt pile increases and you never get out from under it. Everyone can do something NOW to see a shift in that picture. It all starts with an earnest desire to confront and change. Thanks for sharing.
DebtHelp.com is the one site and the one solution for all of your debt consolidation needs. Let our staff of financial experts, innovative technology and collection of helpful articles assist you in finding your debt solutions. By providing simple and secure quotes for nearly a dozen different debt products, we help our customers to rid themselves of debt quickly and easily.
Such a scam, they make you believe they’re helping you but in reality they are ripping you off. They are charging you for something you can do on your own. There is nothing special about this company, please don’t waste your time and money. Wish someone told me this before I signed up. I never write reviews but I feel so strongly about this that I had to try to stop someone else from making the same mistake and sign up with National Debt Relief.
Does This Affect My Credit? Yes, debt negotiation will negatively affect your credit temporarily and it can be improved after you have completed the program and you are debt free. The effects are not as severe as bankruptcy. If you are already behind on your bills, your credit score will already be lower so the effects of our program may not be as severe. You have to decide if it’s better to resolve your debt now at a lower cost and then rebuild your credit.
How Long Will It Take To Get Out Of Debt? It depends on how quickly you can build up your settlement funds and save for the settlement offers. The program length varies between 24-48 months, the faster you can save, the quicker you can get out of debt. If you only make the minimum payments on your credit cards, you could be in debt for the next 10-20 years and pay back 2x, 3x, or even 4 times as much as you originally borrowed.
It is also important to know that National Debt Relief uses a company called Global Client Solutions to manage your payments as a third party processor and trust account servicer. This company has a history of working with many debt settlement companies who have been sued in the state of Washington and across the country for violating various debt adjusting and consumer protection laws. Global Client Solutions has also been sued itself on a national level by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and in the state of Washington.
One thing to consider: If you’re eligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the process can be over fairly quickly and with reasonable certainty that your unsecured debts will be forgiven. Debt management, on the other hand, is more of a question mark. The process can take years, and many people who start debt management plans ultimately drop out and may have to consider bankruptcy anyway.
Choose your lender. With debt consolidation, you can choose the lender you work with. And you have plenty of options to choose from. You can compare lenders here at our debt consolidation loan marketplace. You may get to explore loan offers after inputting some basic information. You can also use our widget below and compare offers from up to five different lenders on LendingTree.
Eliminate and consolidate medical debt to deal with health care costs that are continuing to escalate and that are really out of control. There are ways to consolidate medical debt using assistance programs that are offered by directly hospitals, medical providers, doctors and counselors. These plans are becoming more common in today’s challenging economy and when also considering the aging population. A health care provider will want to find some type of solution for the patient, as in some cases if they do not work with them it can lead to bad public relations. Learn more on how to eliminate medical debt.
Best Answer: That National Debt Relief is a Scam! But they are slick in the way that they operate and know tricks to cover up their dirt so it's hard to prove. A friend of mine signed up for their debt settlement program about 7 months ago and they screwed her over so much in fees and ruined her credit in the process that it sent her into a great depression. I knew they were up to no good because they kept relentlessly pursuing her to sign up with their scam program just like you described. I wouldn't trust this National Debt Relief with a 10 foot pole no matter how they look on the surface..they are nothing but some crooks preying on people who are already struggling! WARNING: I did a search and even found how they could be operating under different names (see source). I been around a long time and am aware of companies like this that keep changing their names, locations, and phone numbers to cover up their dirt and then keep coming back under a clean slate with clean BBB record, and more fake testimonials and all to just repeat the process, keep duping the public, and making tons of money . This makes me sick to my stomach! I sure hope the FTC and other authorities will continue to pursue and put a stop to these scams - no matter slick these crooks operate the people are getting wiser & wiser everyday not to fall for these scams. I commend you for being smart enough to ask around on this matter. Also you can check with your creditors and usuallly they will be willing to work with you if you come at them honestly and sincerely. This is what I did years ago -on my own- to settle my debt and my creditors reduced my payment and debt amount until it was cleared. Remember: If you are behind on your debt, creditors will usually like to get paid something rather than nothing at all - so this makes them highly motivated to work with you.

This year, my husband and I made a few changes… we put ourselves on a strict budget and gave ourselves a cash allowance so we wouldn’t even be tempted to use the debit cards “just to grab lunch,” squirreled our credit cards away so we wouldn’t use them, and went through TONS of stuff that we weren’t using anymore and are planning a neighborhood yard sale for the spring.

Debt consolidation loans can help you pay off bills as well. They are a type of personal loan in which you can consolidate all types of outstanding debts as well as other expenses, including credit cards, other higher priced borrowing, and medical bills. The individual will take out a new loan, at a lower interest rate, and use that money to pay off other accounts. This will reduce your monthly payment, and therefore will save you money. Debt consolidation loans are just one option available to help consumers get better control of their finances.

We are really happy to hear that you found the help you need with your debt via CareOne Debt Relief Services and we appreciate your post explaining the services we offer. We have some exciting changes coming up on our site. We are stepping up our game with the information and resources we provide to people to help them not only get out of debt, but to also STAY debt-free. We hope that you will come and check us out at http://www.CareOneCredit.com and let us know what you think!

I have nothing but great things to say about my time at NDR. In my first six month, there was a bit of a learning curve, but I had a great team and management behind in me who encouraged me to push myself and grow. An exciting aspect of this company is the tremendous growth taking place. In my short time here, I was able to develop the skills necessary to move up and become a team lead. I've worked many jobs on the phone,...

Shady. I have to work with these ” yahoos” daily as I am a debt collector. They will not accept the guidelines set by the creditors to provide settlement options to their clients. They INSIST that I take very low and unreasonable offers to creditors and even if I manage to get them approved then say THEY have to get them approved before paying out. I feel if you are making an offer to settle, it is only fair that you can fund the settlement instead of jerking around. It’s a waste of everyone’s time and is unethical. You can’t make offers to creditors that you can’t fund!
Rachel Kampersal said debt management plans require you to change your habits dramatically since you will have to stop using credit. “Per requirements from creditors, any card that is entered into a debt management plan will be closed, meaning you can no longer make charges to these cards. While difficult, it’s important to stop incurring new debt.”
At this point, you will need to continue following the advice of the credit counseling agency you hired to help and remember the benefits of being debt-free. Life is a lot more difficult when you’re juggling credit card bills and other payments each month. If you want to avoid winding up back in debt, it’s crucial to remember how far you’ve come and how wonderful freedom feels.

Hi Angry – This is a great question and one that we may be covering in a future story with a more in-depth look at how sports teams manage season ticket holder accounts. Out of curiosity, which team were the season tickets for? We may be able to reach out to them for comment about how they handle collection proceedings with defaulted ticket holders.

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Understand the basics of good credit counseling. Many nonprofit credit counseling agencies offer both free and paid services, Kalkowski says. They may offer complimentary consultations, financial literacy workshops or even one-on-one budgeting sessions free of charge. However, if you sign up for a debt management plan, expect to pay for the service. Debt management plans through nonprofits often have a startup fee of $30 to $40 and monthly fees of $20 to $40.

No. All eligible unsecured debt must be accounted for in a debt management plan, even those bills that you typically have no problem making payments on. The credit counseling agency in charge of your debt payment plan will want a full accounting of income and expenses in order to arrive at an accurate amount available to make the monthly DMP payments so be prepared to include all eligible debts.